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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 04-09-09, Holy Thursday - Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper
USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 04-09-09 | New American Bible

Posted on 04/08/2009 10:59:56 PM PDT by Salvation

April 9, 2009

                                Holy Thursday - Evening Mass
                                of the Lord's Supper
 
 
 
 
 

Reading 1
Ex 12:1-8, 11-14

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
"This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;
you shall reckon it the first month of the year.
Tell the whole community of Israel:
On the tenth of this month every one of your families
must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.
If a family is too small for a whole lamb,
it shall join the nearest household in procuring one
and shall share in the lamb
in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.
The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish.
You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month,
and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present,
it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.
They shall take some of its blood
and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel
of every house in which they partake of the lamb.
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

"This is how you are to eat it:
with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand,
you shall eat like those who are in flight.
It is the Passover of the LORD.
For on this same night I will go through Egypt,
striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast,
and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD!
But the blood will mark the houses where you are.
Seeing the blood, I will pass over you;
thus, when I strike the land of Egypt,
no destructive blow will come upon you.

"This day shall be a memorial feast for you,
which all your generations shall celebrate
with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution."


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18

R. (cf. 1 Cor 10:16) Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
 in the presence of all his people.
R. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.


Reading II
1 Cor 11:23-26

Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.


Gospel
Jn 13:1-15

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
"Master, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later."
Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet."
Jesus answered him,
"Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me."
Simon Peter said to him,
"Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well."
Jesus said to him,
"Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all."
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean."

So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another's feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do."




TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist; lent; triduum
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To: kellynla
Holy Thursday: The God who Washes Feet
The significance of Holy Thursday (institution of the Eucharist and priesthood)

21 posted on 04/09/2009 11:54:01 AM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: kellynla

They start your day off right, don’t they?


22 posted on 04/09/2009 11:54:30 AM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Office of Readings and Invitatory Psalm

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.


A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 68 (69)
I am consumed with zeal for your house
You have saved us, Lord, and we shall proclaim your name for all ages.
Save me, O God,
  for the waters have come up to my neck.
I am stuck in bottomless mud;
  I am adrift in deep waters
  and the flood is sweeping me away.
I am exhausted with crying out, my throat is parched,
  my eyes are failing as I look out for my God.
Those who hate me for no reason
  are more than the hairs of my head.
They are strong, my persecutors, my lying enemies:
  they make me give back things I never took.
God, you know my weakness:
  my crimes are not hidden from you.
Let my fate not put to shame those who trust in you,
  Lord, Lord of hosts.
Let them not be dismayed on my account,
  those who seek you, God of Israel.
For it is for your sake that I am taunted
  and covered in confusion:
I have become a stranger to my own brothers,
  a wanderer in the eyes of my mother’s children –
because zeal for your house is consuming me,
  and the taunts of those who hate you
  fall upon my head.
I have humbled my soul with fasting
  and they reproach me for it.
I have made sackcloth my clothing
  and they make me a byword.
The idlers at the gates speak against me;
  for drinkers of wine, I am the butt of their songs.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
You have saved us, Lord, and we shall proclaim your name for all ages.

Psalm 68 (69)
We are your inheritance, Lord: spare us, do not let us be a laughing-stock.
But I turn my prayer to you, Lord,
  at the acceptable time, my God.
In your great kindness, hear me,
  and rescue me with your faithful help.
Tear me from the mire, before I become stuck;
  tear me from those who hate me;
  tear me from the depths of the waters.
Do not let the waves overwhelm me;
  do not let the deep waters swallow me;
  do not let the well’s mouth engulf me.
Hear me, Lord, for you are kind and good.
  In your abundant mercy, look upon me.
Do not turn your face from your servant:
  I am suffering, so hurry to answer me.
Come to my soul and deliver it,
  rescue me from my enemies’ attacks.
You know how I am taunted and ashamed;
  how I am thrown into confusion.
You can see all those who are troubling me.
  Reproach has shattered my heart – I am sick.
I looked for sympathy, but none came;
  I looked for a consoler but did not find one.
They gave me bitterness to eat;
  when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
We are your inheritance, Lord: spare us, do not let us be a laughing-stock.

Psalm 68 (69)
Rise up, Lord, and help us. In your mercy, redeem us.
I am weak and I suffer,
  but your help, O God, will sustain me.
I will praise the name of God in song
  and proclaim his greatness with praises.
This will please the Lord more than oxen,
  than cattle with their horns and hooves.
Let the humble see and rejoice.
  Seek the Lord, and your heart shall live,
for the Lord has heard the needy
  and has not despised his captive people.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
  the seas and all that swims in them.
For the Lord will make Zion safe
  and build up the cities of Judah:
  there they will live, the land will be theirs.
The seed of his servants will inherit the land,
  and those who love his name will dwell there.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
Rise up, Lord, and help us. In your mercy, redeem us.

When I am lifted up from the earth
I shall draw all things to myself.

Reading Hebrews 4:14-5:10 ©
Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.
  Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever. During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.

Reading From an Easter homily by Saint Melito of Sardis, bishop
The Lamb that was slain has delivered us from death and given us life
There was much proclaimed by the prophets about the mystery of the Passover: that mystery is Christ, and to him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
  For the sake of suffering humanity he came down from heaven to earth, clothed himself in that humanity in the Virgin’s womb, and was born a man. Having then a body capable of suffering, he took the pain of fallen man upon himself; he triumphed over the diseases of soul and body that were its cause, and by his Spirit, which was incapable of dying, he dealt man’s destroyer, death, a fatal blow.
  He was led forth like a lamb; he was slaughtered like a sheep. He ransomed us from our servitude to the world, as he had ransomed Israel from the hand of Egypt; he freed us from our slavery to the devil, as he had freed Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. He sealed our souls with his own Spirit, and the members of our body with his own blood.
  He is the One who covered death with shame and cast the devil into mourning, as Moses cast Pharaoh into mourning. He is the One who smote sin and robbed iniquity of offspring, as Moses robbed the Egyptians of their offspring. He is the One who brought us out of slavery into freedom, out of darkness into light, out of death into life, out of tyranny into an eternal kingdom; who made us a new priesthood, a people chosen to be his own for ever. He is the Passover that is our salvation.
  It is he who endured every kind of suffering in all those who foreshadowed him. In Abel he was slain, in Isaac bound, in Jacob exiled, in Joseph sold, in Moses exposed to die. He was sacrificed in the Passover lamb, persecuted in David, dishonoured in the prophets.
  It is he who was made man of the Virgin, he who was hung on the tree; it is he who was buried in the earth, raised from the dead, and taken up to the heights of heaven. He is the mute lamb, the slain lamb, the lamb born of Mary, the fair ewe. He was seized from the flock, dragged off to be slaughtered, sacrificed in the evening, and buried at night. On the tree no bone of his was broken; in the earth his body knew no decay He is the One who rose from the dead, and who raised man from the depths of the tomb.

Concluding Prayer
O God, it is right for us to love you and delight in you. Pour gifts upon us from your inexhaustible store of grace.
  In your Son’s death you made us hope for what we believe will come:
  in his resurrection, make us arrive where we are destined to be.
He lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
  God for ever and ever.
Amen.

23 posted on 04/09/2009 11:59:06 AM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday

The Last Supper - Chartres Cathedral - stained glass window (detail)

Family Activities | Stations of the Cross | Christian Passover Seder | Readings | Adoremus: Articles and Document on Footwashing


Nos autem gloriari oportet in cruce Domini nostri Iesu Christi,
in quo est salus, vita et resurrectio nostra per quem salvati et liberati sumus.

We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is our salvation, our life and our resurrection; through Him we are saved and made free. (cf. Galations 6:14)

-- Entrance Antiphon for Holy Thursday

HOLY THURSDAY is the most complex and profound of all religious observances, saving only the Easter Vigil. It celebrates both the institution by Christ Himself of the Eucharist and of the institution of the sacerdotal priesthood (as distinct from the "priesthood of all believers") for in this, His last supper with the disciples, a celebration of Passover, He is the self-offered Passover Victim, and every ordained priest to this day presents this same sacrifice, by Christ's authority and command, in exactly the same way. The Last Supper was also Christ's farewell to His assembled disciples, some of whom would betray, desert or deny Him before the sun rose again.

On Holy Thursday morning there is a special Mass in Cathedral Churches, celebrated by the bishop and as many priests of the diocese as can attend, because it is a solemn observance of Christ's institution of the priesthood at the Last Supper. At this "Chrism Mass" the bishop also blesses the Oil of Chrism used for Baptism, Confirmation and Anointing of the sick or dying. The bishop may wash the feet of twelve of the priests, to symbolize Christ's washing the feet of His Apostles, the first priests.

The evening Holy Thursday Liturgy, marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the sacred "Triduum" ("three days") of Holy Week, which culminates in the Easter Vigil, and concludes at Vespers on the evening of Easter day (see Paschale Solemnitatis, §§ 38-40). The Mass begins in the evening, because Passover began at sundown; it commemorates Our Lord's institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. It also shows both the worth God ascribes to the humility of service, and the need for cleansing with water (a symbol of baptism) in the Mandatum, washing, commemorating Jesus' washing the feet of His apostles, as well as in the priest's stripping and washing of the altar. Cleansing, in fact, gave this day of Holy Week the name Maundy Thursday.

The action of the Church on this night also witnesses to the Church's esteem for Christ's Body present in the consecrated Host in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, carried in solemn procession to the flower-bedecked Altar of Repose, where it will remain "entombed" until the communion service on Good Friday. No Mass will be celebrated again in the Church until the Easter Vigil proclaims the Resurrection.

And finally, there is the continued Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament by the people during the night, just as the disciples stayed with the Lord during His agony on the Mount of Olives before the betrayal by Judas.

There is such an abundance of symbolism in the solemn celebration of the events of Holy Thursday layer upon layer, in fact that we can no more than hint at it in these few words. For many centuries, the Last Supper of Our Lord has inspired great works of art and literature, such as the glorious stained glass window in Chartres cathedral (above), Leonardo's ever popular (and much imitated) Last Supper in the 16th century; and a reminiscence called Holy Thursday, by the French novelist François Mauriac, written in the 1930s. (
A chapter of Mauriac's meditation was reprinted in Voices, Lent-Easter 2002, with permission from Sophia Institute Press).

Family Activities for Holy Thursday

When you eat this bread and drink this cup
you proclaim the Lord's death, until He comes again.

­
I Corinthians 11:26

 

We have prepared a Christian adaptation of a Passover Seder, simple enough for use in families with young children. This special meal stresses the Christian significance of elements of the traditional Jewish Passover meal (seder) as it may have been celebrated in our Lord's time. It is neither a re-enactment of the Last Supper, nor a Jewish service. But we believe this festive family meal can be a very expressive way of helping young children to understand more about the historic origins of their faith as well as the importance of this day of Holy Week. (This is in the full edition of the Family Sourcebook for Lent and Easter. You may make photocopies of the service so everyone can have one.)

Maundy Thursday's emphasis on ritual washing also gave rise to the ancient tradition of spring cleaning, evidently related to the Jewish custom of ritually cleaning the home in preparation for the Feast of Passover. Everything was to be cleaned and polished in preparation for the Easter celebration. You can tell children about this tradition and ask to them to clean their rooms in order to observe Maundy Thursday. (Be sure to let us know if this works!)

Adults and children who are old enough to accompany their parents can return to Church after Mass for a period of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. If this is not possible, candles can be lighted and special prayers could be said after returning home from Mass and before bedtime. To give you some ideas, on the Stations of the Cross page we have included suggestions for a family observance of the Stations (also known as Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross) as a form of Tenebrae.

 

Readings

 

Chrism Mass

Collect:
Father,
by the power of the Holy Spirit
You anointed Your own Son Messiah and Lord of creation;
You have given us a share in His consecration
to priestly service in Your Church.
Help us to be faithful witnesses in the world
to the salvation Christ won for all mankind.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion -- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, but you shall be called the priests of the Lord, men shall speak of you as the ministers of our God
I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

Second Reading: Revelation 1:5-8
From Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, every one who pierced Him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Gospel Reading:Luke 4:16-21
He[Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the sabbath day. And He stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Mass of the Lord's Supper

Collect:
God our Father,
we are gathered here to share in the supper
which Your only Son left to his Church to reveal his love.
He gave it to us when He was about to die
and commanded us to celebrate it as the new and eternal sacrifice.
We pray that in this Eucharist
we may find the fullness of love and life.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.

In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

Gospel Reading:John 13:1-15
Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside His garments, and girded Himself with a towel. Then He poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you." For He knew who was to betray Him; that was why He said, "You are not all clean."

When He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and resumed His place, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.


Adoremus: Articles and Document on Footwashing:
The Footwashing -- Jesus Christ Establishes the New Covenant Before Calvary -- by The Rev. Msgr. Anthony A. LaFemina [March 2006]

Paths to Rome: Washing of feet on Holy Thursday: "For I have given you an example, that you also should do" -- by Fr. Jerry Pokorsky [March 1997]

Relevant paragraphs of Paschale Solemnitatis follow:

45. Careful attention should be given to the mysteries that are commemorated in this Mass: the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and Christ's command of brotherly love; the homily should explain these points.

51. The washing of the feet of chosen men [viri selecti] which, according to tradition, is performed on this day, represents the service and charity of Christ, who came "not to be served, but to serve." [58] This tradition should be maintained, and its proper significance explained.  


24 posted on 04/09/2009 12:03:51 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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Catholic Culture

Daily Readings (on USCCB site):
» April 09, 2009
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Collect: God our Father, we are gathered here to share in supper which your only Son left to his Church to reveal his love. He gave it to us when he was about to die and commanded us to celebrate it as the new and eternal sacrifice. We pray that in this Eucharist we may find the fullness of love and life. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Month Year Season
« April 09, 2009 »

Holy Thursday
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The last three days of Holy Week are referred to as the Easter or Sacred Triduum (Triduum Sacrum), the three-part drama of Christ's redemption: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Holy Thursday is also known as "Maundy Thursday." The word maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum (commandment) which is the first word of the Gospel acclamation:

Mandátum novum do vobis dicit Dóminus, ut diligátis ínvicem, sicut diléxi vos:
"I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34)
These are the words spoken by our Lord to His apostles at the Last Supper, after he completed the washing of the feet. We should imitate Christ's humility in the washing of the feet.

By meditating on the Gospels (cf. Matt 26:1 ff.; Mark 14:1 ff.; Luke 22:1 ff.; John 13:1 ff.), we can recall to mind Jesus' actions of that day. Father Bernard Strasser summarizes all the events of that first Holy Thursday:

...They included: (1) The eating of the Easter lamb or the paschal meal; (2) The washing of the disciple's feet; (3) The institution of the Most Holy Eucharist (the first Mass at which Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest, is the celebrant; the first Communion of the apostles; the first conferring of Holy Orders); (4) The foretelling of Judas' betrayal and Peter's denials; (5) The farewell discourse and priestly prayer of Jesus; (6) The agony and capture of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. — ©1947, With Christ Through the Year
In all the German speaking countries, Slavic nations and in Hungary this day is also known as "Green Thursday." The word is a corruption of the German word grunen (to mourn) to the German word for green (grün). Many people believe they must eat green at today's meal, which is probably derived from from the Jewish Passover meal that included bitter herbs.

Stational Church


Chrism Mass
There are only two Masses allowed on Holy Thursday -- the Chrism Mass and the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. In each diocese there is a Chrism Mass or Mass of the Holy Oils, usually said in the morning at the cathedral of the diocese. Catholics should make an effort to participate at the Mass at least once in their lives, to experience the communion of priests with their bishop. All the priests of the diocese are invited to concelebrate with the bishop. The holy oils to be used throughout the diocese for the following year in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders and the Sacrament of the Sick are blessed by the bishop at this Mass. This Mass also celebrates the institution of the priesthood.

Mass of the Lord's Supper
During the evening of Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord's Supper is celebrated. It is celebrated in the evening because the Passover began at sundown. There is only one Mass, at which the whole community and priests of the parish participate. This is a very joyful Mass, as we recall the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood. The priests wear white vestments, the altar is filled with flowers, the Gloria is sung and the bells are rung. After the Gloria, we shall not hear organ music and the bells until the Easter Vigil. The Liturgy of the Mass recalls the Passover, the Last Supper, which includes the Washing of the Feet. The hymn Ubi Caritas or Where Charity and Love Prevail is usually sung at this time. After the Communion Prayer, there is no final blessing. The Holy Eucharist is carried in procession through Church and then transferred into a place of reposition, usually a side chapel. The hymn Pange Lingua is also usually sung at this time.

After the Mass, we recall the Agony in the Garden, and the arrest and imprisonment of Jesus. The altar is stripped bare, crosses are removed or covered. The Eucharist has been placed in an altar of repose, and most churches are open for silent adoration, to answer Christ's invitation "Could you not, then, watch one hour with me?" (Matt 26:40)


The Altar of Repose
When the Eucharist is processed to the altar of repose after the Mass of the Lord's Supper, we should remain in quiet prayer and adoration, keeping Christ company. There is a tradition, particularly in big cities with many parishes, to try and visit seven churches and their altar of repose during this evening.

Popular piety is particularly sensitive to the adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the wake of the Mass of the Lord's supper. Because of a long historical process, whose origins are not entirely clear, the place of repose has traditionally been referred to as "a holy sepulchre". The faithful go there to venerate Jesus who was placed in a tomb following the crucifixion and in which he remained for some forty hours.

It is necessary to instruct the faithful on the meaning of the reposition: it is an austere solemn conservation of the Body of Christ for the community of the faithful which takes part in the liturgy of Good Friday and for the viaticum of the infirmed. It is an invitation to silent and prolonged adoration of the wondrous sacrament instituted by Jesus on this day.

In reference to the altar of repose, therefore, the term "sepulchre" should be avoided, and its decoration should not have any suggestion of a tomb. The tabernacle on this altar should not be in the form of a tomb or funerary urn. The Blessed Sacrament should be conserved in a closed tabernacle and should not be exposed in a monstrance.

After mid-night on Holy Thursday, the adoration should conclude without solemnity, since the day of the Lord's Passion has already begun.

Directory on Popular Piety


Washing of Feet and a Seder Meal
In imitation of Christ's last supper, many Christians prepare a seder meal or the pasch. Celebrating a paschal meal helps us comprehend the plan of redemption. We see the lamb, cooked whole, with no bones broken, foreshadowing the death of Christ, the Lamb of God. We eat the unleavened bread and recall to mind the Eucharist. We eat the whole meal in prayerful reminder of that Last Supper that Jesus spent with His apostles, His friends, instituting Holy Orders and leaving His greatest gift, the Holy Eucharist.

A typical paschal meal includes the roast lamb, bitter herbs, haroset, matzoh and wine. The meal can be as authentic or representative as desired. There are numerous sources, both Christian and Jewish, that can give recipes, prayers and procedure for an authentic paschal feast.


The Station today is at St. John Lateran. Maundy Thursday is devoted to the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. On this day the bishop blesses the Holy Oils; thus is made clear that the sacraments have their source in Christ and derive their fruitfulness from the paschal mystery of salvation.


25 posted on 04/09/2009 12:11:03 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.


A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 79 (80)
Lord, tend your vine
Look, Lord, see my distress: answer me quickly.
Shepherd of Israel, listen –
  you who take Joseph as your flock.
Shine out before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh –
  you who are enthroned upon the cherubim.
Awaken your power and come to us,
  come to us and save us.
Bring us back, O God:
  let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
Lord God of hosts –
  how long will your anger endure
  against the prayers of your people?
You have given us tears for our bread,
  abundance of tears for us to drink.
You have made us a mockery among our neighbours,
  and our enemies laugh at us.
Bring us back, O God of hosts:
  let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
You brought a vine out of Egypt;
  planted it, and drove out the nations.
You cleared the ground all about it,
  made firm its roots; and it filled the land.
Its shade covered mountains,
  its boughs shaded the cedars of God;
its leaves spread as far as the sea,
  its shoots as far as the River.
So why did you destroy its wall,
  so that anyone could pluck its fruit,
  whoever was passing by?
The wild boar of the forest broke it,
  every wild beast could graze off it.
Turn back, O God of hosts,
  look down from heaven and tend this vine.
Protect the vine, for your right hand planted it;
  and the son of man, whom you made strong.
The vine is burnt and dug up;
  and they too will perish when they see you rebuke them.
Stretch out your hand over your chosen one
  over the son of man, whom you made strong –
and we will not forsake you, and you will give us life;
  and we will call on your name.
Bring us back, Lord God of hosts:
  let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
Look, Lord, see my distress: answer me quickly.

Canticle Isaiah 12
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
Behold, God is my salvation. I shall trust him, I shall not fear.
I will praise you, Lord, for when you were angry with me
  you calmed your rage and turned again to console me.
Behold, God is my salvation:
  I will be confident, I will not fear;
for the Lord is my strength and my joy,
  he has become my saviour.
And you will rejoice as you draw water
  from the wells of salvation.
And then you will say:
  “Praise the Lord and call upon his name.
Tell the peoples what he has done,
  remember always the greatness of his name.
Sing to the Lord, for he has done great things:
  let this be known throughout the world.
Cry out with joy and gladness, you who dwell in Zion.
  Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
Behold, God is my salvation. I shall trust him, I shall not fear.

Psalm 80 (81)
Solemn renewal of the covenant
The Lord has fed us with richest wheat and given us honey from the rock to our heart’s content.
Shout with joy to God our helper,
  rejoice in the God of Jacob.
Take up the song, sound the timbrel,
  play on the lyre and the harp.
At the start of the month, sound the trumpet,
  at the full moon, at our festival.
For this is the law for Israel,
  the decree of the God of Jacob.
He gave it to Joseph, for a witness,
  when he went out of the land of Egypt;
  with words that had never been heard:
“I freed his back from burdens;
  his hands were freed from heavy loads.
In your tribulation you called on me and I freed you,
  I heard you from the heart of the storm,
  I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Listen, my people, and I will put my case –
  Israel, if you would only hear me!
You shall not have any strange god,
  you shall not worship the gods of foreigners.
For I am the Lord, your God,
  who led you out of the land of Egypt.
  Open wide your mouth and I shall fill it.
But my people did not hear my voice:
  Israel did not turn to me.
So I let them go on in the hardness of their hearts,
  and follow their own counsels.
If my people had heard me,
  if only they had walked in my ways –
I would swiftly have crushed their enemies,
  stretched my hand over those who persecuted them.
The enemies of the Lord would be overcome with weakness,
  Israel’s would be the good fortune, for ever:
  I would feed them full of richest wheat
and give them honey from the rock,
  to their heart’s content.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
The Lord has fed us with richest wheat and given us honey from the rock to our heart’s content.

Short reading Hebrews 2:9-10 ©
We have seen Jesus crowned with glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all mankind. As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation.

Canticle Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
I have longed to eat this passover with you before I suffer.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
  for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation
  in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,
  his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies
  and all who hate us,
to take pity on our fathers,
  to remember his holy covenant
and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
  that he would give himself to us,
that we could serve him without fear
 – freed from the hands of our enemies –
in uprightness and holiness before him,
  for all of our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:
  for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation,
  so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God,
  one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness,
  who live in the shadow of death;
  to lead our feet in the path of peace.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
I have longed to eat this passover with you before I suffer.

Prayers and Intercessions ?
Christ is the eternal High Priest, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and sent to proclaim release for captives. Humbly we pray to him:
Lord, have mercy on us.
You went up to Jerusalem to undergo the Passion and thus enter into glory:
  lead your Church safely through to your eternal Paschal feast.
Lord, have mercy on us.
It was by your will that, as you hung on the cross, your side was pierced by the soldier’s lance –
  we too are wounded: heal us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
By your decree, the cross has become the tree of life:
  give its fruit to all who are reborn in baptism.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Hanging from that tree you pardoned the penitent thief:
  we too are sinners: pardon us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
  hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
  thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
  and forgive us our trespasses
  as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
  but deliver us from evil.

O God, it is right for us to love you and delight in you. Pour gifts upon us from your inexhaustible store of grace.
  In your Son’s death you made us hope for what we believe will come:
  in his resurrection, make us arrive where we are destined to be.
He lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
  God for ever and ever.
Amen.

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.
A M E N

26 posted on 04/09/2009 12:23:51 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 13:1-15

Holy Thursday

What a special, holy night we remember! Each of the four gospel writers tells the story of Jesus’ last meal with his closest friends. Clearly, it was a pivotal moment, one the disciples relived every time they gathered to celebrate Eucharist.

John, the beloved disciple, talks often about Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6). So why is the institution of the Eucharist absent from John’s account of the Last Supper? Why does he tell only its prelude, how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet before the meal?

The reason is that the foot washing lays bare the unconditional love Jesus has for his disciples and all people—the love that stands behind his gift of the Eucharist. Unless we encounter that love and let it transform us, even our celebration of Mass can leave us feeling dry and empty. We can feel as if there is no power in the sacrament to change our lives.

John builds up to this event. He reminds us that Jesus was fully aware of his destiny and that he held all power in his hands. One might expect this preface to lead to a public proclamation of the kingdom, a call to arms, or at least a commissioning of the disciples. Instead, John tells us that Jesus laid all this down and knelt before each disciple to do the work of the most menial servant.

Jesus’ example is powerful. No task is too lowly, too hard, or too meaningless for a lover. Jesus saw a need, and he set aside his dignity to meet it in a very personal way. We follow his example when love leads us to do the same, whether it’s splashing water on a toddler at the beach, gently cleaning a child’s scraped knee, washing a teenager’s car, or wiping the brow of a dying parent or friend.

In the meal that we relive on this holy night, Jesus’ love comes into us and empowers us to be this kind of servant, this kind of lover. So watch with him closely tonight. Keep your eyes on his love, and see how that love changes you over the next three days.

“Jesus, how you love each of us! May I never take your sacrifice for granted or miss an opportunity to extend that love to those around me.”

Exodus 12:1-8,11-14; Psalm 116:12-13,15-18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26


27 posted on 04/09/2009 12:50:27 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

Yes, they do.
Thanks again for all your work here on FR!


28 posted on 04/09/2009 1:07:09 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla

Have a blessed Triduum.


29 posted on 04/09/2009 1:11:53 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Vultus Christi

cristo1.jpg

Yesterday in his Wednesday audience, the Holy Father prepared us for the Sacred Paschal Triduum. Here is his address. The subtitles are my own.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Into the Sacred Paschal Triduum

Holy Week, which for us Christians is the most important week of the year, offers us the opportunity to be immersed in the central events of Redemption, to relive the Paschal Mystery, the great mystery of the faith. Beginning tomorrow afternoon, with the Mass "In Coena Domini," the solemn liturgical rites will help us to meditate in a more lively manner on the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord in the days of the Holy Paschal Triduum, fulcrum of the entire liturgical year.

Christus Factus Est Pro Nobis Obediens

May divine grace open our hearts to comprehend the inestimable gift that salvation is, obtained for us by Christ's sacrifice. We find this immense gift wonderfully narrated in a famous hymn contained in the Letter to the Philippians (cf. 2:6-11), on which we meditated several times in Lent. The Apostle reviews, both in an essential and effective manner, the whole mystery of the history of salvation referring to Adam's pride who, not being God, wanted to be like God. And he contrasts this pride of the first man, which all of us feel a bit in our being, with the humility of the true Son of God who, becoming man, did not hesitate to take upon himself all the weaknesses of the human being, except sin, and pushed himself to the profundity of death. This descent to the last profundity of the Passion and Death is then followed by his exaltation, the true glory, the glory of the love that went all the way to the end. And that is why it is right -- as Paul says -- that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!" (2:10-11). With these words, St. Paul refers to a prophecy of Isaiah where God says: I am the Lord, to me every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth (cf. Isaiah 45: 23). This -- says Paul -- is also true for Jesus Christ. He really is, in his humility, in the true greatness of his love, the Lord of the world and before him every knee truly bows.

How marvelous, and at the same time amazing, is this mystery! We can never meditate this reality sufficiently. Jesus, though being God, did not want to make of his divine prerogatives an exclusive possession; he did not want to use his being God, his glorious dignity and power, as an instrument of triumph and sign of distance from us. On the contrary, "he emptied himself" assuming our miserable and weak human condition -- in this regard, Paul uses a quite meaningful Greek verb to indicate the kenosis, this descent of Jesus. The divine form (morphe) is hidden in Christ under the human form, namely, under our reality marked by suffering, poverty, human limitations and death. The radical and true sharing of our nature, a sharing in everything except sin, leads him to that frontier that is the sign of our finiteness -- death. But all this was not the fruit of a dark mechanism or a blind fatality: It was instead his free choice, by his generous adherence to the salvific plan of the Father. And the death which he went out to meet -- adds Paul -- was that of the cross, the most humiliating and degrading that one can imagine. The Lord of the universe did all this out of love for us: out of love he willed to "empty himself" and make himself our brother; out of love he shared our condition, that of every man and every woman. In this connection, Theodoret of Cyrus, a great witness of the Eastern tradition, writes: "Being God and God by nature and having equality with God, he did not retain this as something great, as do those who have received some honor beyond their merits, but concealing his merits, he chose the most profound humility and took the form of a human being" (Commentary on the Letter to the Philippians, 2:6-7).

The Chrism Mass and the Year of the Priest

As prelude to the Paschal Triduum, which will begin tomorrow -- as I was saying -- with the thought-provoking afternoon rites of Holy Thursday, is the solemn Chrism Mass, which the bishop celebrates in the morning with his presbytery, and in the course of which at the same time the priestly promises are renewed, made on the day of ordination. It is a gesture of great value, an occasion all the more propitious in which the priests confirm their fidelity to Christ who chose them as his ministers. Moreover, this priestly meeting assumes a particular meaning, because it is almost a preparation to the Priestly Year, which I have proclaimed on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of the holy Curé of Ars and which will begin next June 19. Blessed also in the Chrism Mass will be the oil of the sick and of catechumens, and the chrism will be consecrated. These are rites that signify symbolically the fullness of Christ's priesthood and the ecclesial communion that must animate Christian people, gathered for the Eucharistic sacrifice and vivified in the unity of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Cenacle

In the afternoon Mass, called "In Coena Domini," the Church commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the ministerial priesthood and the new commandment of charity, left by Jesus to his disciples. St. Paul gives one of the earliest testimonies of all that happened in the Cenacle, vigil of the Lord's Passion. "The Lord Jesus," he wrote, at the beginning of the 50's years, based on a text he received from the Lord's own realm, "on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me'" (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). Words charged with mystery, which manifest clearly the will of Christ: Under the species of bread and wine he renders himself present in his body given and with his bloodshed. It is the sacrifice of the new and definitive covenant offered to all, without distinction of race or culture. And from this sacramental rite, which he entrusts to the Church as supreme proof of his love, Jesus appointed his disciples as ministers, and those who followed them in the course of the centuries. Holy Thursday is, therefore, a renewed invitation to render thanks to God for the supreme gift of the Eucharist, to be received with devotion and to be adored with lively faith. Because of this, the Church encourages, after the celebration of Holy Mass, watching in the presence of the Most Holy Sacrament, recalling the sad hour that Jesus passed in solitude and prayer in Gethsemane, before being arrested and then being condemned to death.

The Precious Blood and the Wood of the Cross

And so we come to Good Friday, day of the Passion and crucifixion of the Lord. Every year, placing ourselves in silence before Jesus nailed to the wood of the cross, we realize how full of love were the words he pronounced on the eve, in the course of the Last Supper. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24). Jesus willed to offer his life in sacrifice for the remission of humanity's sins. Just as before the Eucharist, so before the Passion and Death of Jesus on the cross the mystery is unfathomable to reason. We are placed before something that humanly might seem absurd: a God who not only is made man, with all man's needs, not only suffers to save man, burdening himself with all the tragedy of humanity, but dies for man.

Trust and Abandonment in God

Christ's death recalls the accumulation of sorrows and evils that beset humanity of all times: the crushing weight of our dying, the hatred and violence that again today bloody the earth. The Lord's Passion continues in the suffering of men. As Blaise Pascal correctly writes, "Jesus will be in agony until the end of the world; one must not sleep during this time" (Pensées, 553). If Good Friday is a day full of sadness, and hence at the same time, all the more propitious a day to reawaken our faith, to strengthen our hope and courage so that each one of us will carry his cross with humility, trust and abandonment in God, certain of his support and victory. The liturgy of this day sings: "O Crux, ave, spes unica" (Hail, O cross, our only hope)."

In the Silence of Mary

This hope is nourished in the great silence of Holy Saturday, awaiting the resurrection of Jesus. On this day the Churches are stripped and no particular liturgical rites are provided. The Church watches in prayer like Mary, and together with Mary, sharing the same feelings of sorrow and trust in God. Justly recommended is to preserve throughout the day a prayerful climate, favorable to meditation and reconciliation; the faithful are encouraged to approach the sacrament of penance, to be able to participate truly renewed in the Paschal celebrations.

The Paschal Vigil

The recollection and silence of Holy Saturday lead us at night to the solemn Paschal Vigil, "mother of all vigils," when the singing of the joy of the resurrection of Christ will erupt in all the churches and communities. Proclaimed once again will be the victory of light over darkness, of life over death, and the Church will rejoice in the encounter with her Lord. We will thus enter into the climate of the Easter of Resurrection.

The Triduum with Mary

Dear brothers and sisters, let us dispose ourselves to live the Holy Triduum intensely, to participate ever more profoundly in the mystery of Christ. We are accompanied on this journey by the Holy Virgin, who in silence followed her son Jesus to Calvary, taking part with great sorrow in his sacrifice, thus cooperating with the mystery of the Redemption and becoming Mother of all believers (cf. John 19:25-27). Together with her we will enter the Cenacle, we will stay at the foot of the Cross, we will watch next to the dead Christ, awaiting with hope the dawn of the radiant day of the Resurrection. In this perspective, I now express to all of you the most cordial wishes for a happy and holy Easter, together with your families, parishes and communities.


30 posted on 04/09/2009 1:12:21 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

Thank you.


31 posted on 04/09/2009 1:17:32 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: All
Vespers -- Evening Prayer

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.


A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 71 (72)
The Messiah's royal power
He has built a kingdom for God his Father. He is the firstborn from the dead and ruler over the kings of the earth.
Give the king your judgement, O God,
  give the king’s son your righteousness.
Let him judge your people with justice
  and your poor ones with wisdom.
Let the mountains bring peace to your people,
  let the hills bring righteousness.
He will give his judgement to the poor among the people,
  he will rescue the children of the destitute,
  he will lay low the false accuser.
He will endure with the sun, beneath the moon,
  from generation to generation.
He will come down like rain on the pasture,
  like a shower that waters the earth.
In his time, righteousness will flourish
  and abundance of peace,
  until the moon itself is no more.
He will rule from coast to coast,
  from the world’s centre to its farthest edge.
The desert-dwellers will cast themselves down before him;
  his enemies will eat dust at his feet.
The kings of Tharsis and the islands will bring tribute,
  the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts.
All the kings will worship him,
  all nations will serve him.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
He has built a kingdom for God his Father. He is the firstborn from the dead and ruler over the kings of the earth.

Psalm 71 (72)
The Lord will save the poor from the powerful, and the needy whom nobody hears.
Because he has given freedom to the destitute who called to him,
  to the poor, whom no-one will hear.
He will spare the poor and the needy,
  he will keep their lives safe.
He will rescue their lives from oppression and violence,
  their blood will be precious in his sight.
He will live long, and receive gifts of gold from Arabia;
  they will pray for him always,
  bless him all through the day.
There will be abundance of grain in the land,
  it will wave even from the tops of the mountains;
its fruit will be richer than Lebanon.
  The people will flourish as easily as grass.
Let his name be blessed for ever,
  let his name endure beneath the sun.
All the nations of the earth will be blessed in him,
  all nations will acclaim his greatness.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
  who alone works wonders.
Let his majesty be blessed for ever;
  let it fill all the earth. Amen, amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
The Lord will save the poor from the powerful, and the needy whom nobody hears.

Canticle Apocalypse 11
The Judgement
The saints have victory through the blood of the Lamb and the witness they have borne.
We thank you,
  Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
  that you have taken up your great power and begun to reign.
The nations were angered,
  but your anger came, the time for the dead to be judged,
the time to reward the prophets and saints, your servants,
  and those who feared your name, both great and small.
Now have come the salvation and might and kingdom of our God,
  and the power of his Anointed,
for the accuser of our brethren has been brought down,
  who accused them day and night in the sight of God.
But they vanquished him through the blood of the Lamb
  and through their own witness.
They did not cling to life,
  even in the face of death.
Therefore rejoice, heavens,
  and you who dwell in them.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
The saints have victory through the blood of the Lamb and the witness they have borne.

Short reading Hebrews 13:12-15 ©
Jesus suffered outside the gate to sanctify the people with his own blood. Let us go to him, then, ‘outside the camp’, and share his degradation. For there is no eternal city for us in this life but we look for one in the life to come. Through him, let us offer God an unending sacrifice of praise, a verbal sacrifice that is offered every time we acknowledge his name.

Canticle Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
  and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation.
For he has shown me such favour –
  me, his lowly handmaiden.
Now all generations will call me blessed,
  because the mighty one has done great things for me.
His name is holy,
  his mercy lasts for generation after generation
  for those who revere him.
He has put forth his strength:
  he has scattered the proud and conceited,
  torn princes from their thrones;
  but lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
  the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
  he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers,
  to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples.

Prayers and Intercessions ?
Let us worship our Saviour. At the Last Supper, when he was about to be betrayed, he commanded the Church to commemorate for ever his death and resurrection. Let us pray to him, saying:
Sanctify the people you redeemed with your blood.
You are our Redeemer. Let our penance unite us to you in your Passion:
  let it bring us to the glory of the Resurrection.
Sanctify the people you redeemed with your blood.
May your Mother, the comfort of the afflicted, give us her protection.
  You console us and make us live again: may we do the same, in our turn, for those who mourn.
Sanctify the people you redeemed with your blood.
Teach the faithful in adversity to share in your passion,
  and let the light of your salvation shine out through them.
Sanctify the people you redeemed with your blood.
You lowered yourself and were obedient even to death: death on a cross.
  Let your servants be obedient also, and suffer patiently.
Sanctify the people you redeemed with your blood.
May the dead share in the light of your resurrection;
  and may we, too, one day be united with them.
Sanctify the people you redeemed with your blood.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
  hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
  thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
  and forgive us our trespasses
  as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
  but deliver us from evil.

O God, you made Christ the salvation of the human race and the eternal high priest,
  by your will,
  for your glory,
  and to bring glory to all.
Grant that the people he has won through his blood,
  now commemorating that blessed event,
  may by that commemoration receive the power of his Cross and Resurrection.
He lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
  God for ever and ever.
Amen.

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.
A M E N

32 posted on 04/09/2009 1:18:01 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

Humble Service
April 9, 2009 Holy Thursday
| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY
Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Father Shane Lambert, LC

John 13:1-15
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples´ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean." So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ´teacher´ and ´master,´ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another´s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."

Introductory Prayer:Lord Jesus, I wish to accompany you closely on the road to Calvary. If I were to contemplate you more often as you hang scourged and bloody upon the cross, I’m certain I would be able to rest in your love and base my actions on that one truth. I know that you have loved me with an eternal love: You have proven it there on the wood of the cross. So I long to respond with gratitude, peace and the firm determination to spread your love to everyone.

Petition:Lord, grant me the grace of final perseverance in the faith.

1. His Hour, His Love   “Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.” Despite the difficulties he faced, Jesus did not suffer a mid-life crisis at age 33. He knew who he was. He knew where he came from. He knew where he was going. He knew the trials that were soon to crush his mortal body. They would be a means to prove his worth: his love. “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Love endures anything. Love can draw forth good even from the worst of situations. Love redeems. The very betrayal of his friendship will let him demonstrate the authenticity of his own friendship: “There is no greater love than to lay one’s life down for one’s friends.”

2. Free Service   Jesus has not asked “permission” to be humble and of service. Peter’s question, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” does not come as a request, rather as a resistant acknowledgement of what Jesus is about to do. Do humility and love need our “permission”? The question is: Who is humble enough to receive someone else’s love? Am I humble enough to receive Jesus’ love for me? Jesus’ humility and charity are purifying in their effect. In fact, precisely the attitude, “You will never wash my feet,” needs to be washed away. Only the poor in spirit, the pure of heart, the childlike enter the Kingdom of heaven: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Let Christ bathe me, then, by his graceful example. Anything less, I will lose my part with him. Yet if he has bathed me by his word, then I must only keep my feet clean.

3. Model Teacher   If I am a disciple, I must be careful to learn the lesson. Jesus asks, “Do you realize what I have done for you?” If anything, the master could demand that his servant wash his feet, not the other way around. Jesus is Lord and master, he is the Good Teacher. I am his disciple. Nonetheless, he has demonstrated his authority not by exacting obedience through exertion of force, rather by revealing the power of virtue: humility and charity – and their capacity to teach and persuade. “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another´s feet.” He has given me a model to follow, so that I go and do likewise. Whose feet am I meant to wash?

Conversation with Christ:Lord, continue to bathe me with your word so that I may be found clean. Grant me the humility and charity to imitate your virtues. I wish to learn to wash the feet of others, so give me the grace to let down my defenses and simply reach out to do good, without worrying how others may react to me.

Resolution:Today I will humble myself to serve someone in need, especially anyone toward whom I have negative sentiments.


33 posted on 04/09/2009 2:55:28 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All

Homily of the Day

Remember and Give Thanks!

April 9th, 2009 by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Ex 12:1-8, 11-14 / 1 Cor 11:23-26 / Jn 13:1-15

As the last supper drew to a close, Jesus had less than 24 hours to live.  It was time to speak His last words to His friends. But what could He say, when the sadness was so great? So He simply acted. First, He gave them his own body and blood as food, so that as long as they lived, they’d never be without the comfort and strength of His presence. Then He washed their feet — a tender reminder of His undying affection and a quiet plea for them to do the same for each other. He fed them, He washed their feet, and then He went out to die.

This evening, in Catholic churches in every corner of the world, priests, bishops, and even the pope at St. Peter’s in Rome, are doing yet again what Jesus did on that first Holy Thursday, not out of nostalgia, but as a holy remembering — remembering that we’ll never be alone because He’ll always be near, and remembering that our vocation is to take care of one another as He always takes care of us.

Remember and give thanks!


34 posted on 04/09/2009 2:58:08 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Thursday, April 9, 2009 >> Holy Thursday
Saint of the Day
 
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26

View Readings
Psalm 116
John 13:1-15

 

THE MEAL THAT SHOUTS THE GOOD NEWS

 
"Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes!" —1 Corinthians 11:26
 

You may not be a good speaker, but you can spend your life evangelizing and proclaiming the faith. You may be shy and find it hard to approach people with the message of salvation. You may not have led anyone to Jesus for years. Nevertheless, God has still provided a way for you to loudly proclaim that Jesus died for the sins of the world.

By eating the eucharistic body of Jesus at Mass, Scripture declares you are proclaiming to the world that Jesus Christ came to earth to take upon His shoulders our sins (1 Cor 11:26). By drinking of the cup of the precious blood of Jesus, you in effect shout from the rooftops (Mt 10:27) that Jesus is coming again in glory (1 Cor 11:26).

We live in a hurting world that desperately needs to hear the good news of Jesus over and over again. Let your message go out to the ends of the earth (Ps 19:5; Acts 1:8) by receiving the eucharistic Jesus daily, or as often as possible. Jesus commands: "Do this...in remembrance of Me" (1 Cor 11:25).

 
Prayer: Father, use me to bring many thousands of fallen-away Catholics back to Jesus, back to a regular sacramental life in the Church, and forward to a life of mature discipleship.
Promise: "If I washed your feet — I Who am Teacher and Lord — then you must wash each other's feet. What I just did was to give you an example: as I have done, so you must do." —Jn 13:14-15
Praise: Praise the Eucharistic Jesus, Who humbled Himself to be food for our souls.
 

35 posted on 04/09/2009 3:00:40 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All

Compline (Night Prayer)

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.


This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience. In a communal celebration of Compline, one of the penitential acts given in the Missal may be recited.

Hymn
Christ, thou who art the light and day,
Who chasest nightly shades away,
Thyself the Light of Light confessed,
And promiser of radiance blest:
O holy Lord, we pray to thee,
Throughout the night our guardian be;
In thee vouchsafe us to repose,
All peaceful till the night shall close.
O let our eyes due slumber take,
Our hearts to thee forever wake:
And let thy right hand from above
Shield us who turn to thee in love.
O strong defender, hear our prayers,
Repel our foes and break their snares,
And govern thou thy servants here,
Those ransomed with thy life-blood dear.
Almighty Father, this accord
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord,
Who with the Holy Ghost and thee
Doth reign through all eternity.

Psalm 90 (91)
The protection of the Most High
He will shade you with his wings; you will not fear the terror of the night.
He who lives under the protection of the Most High
  dwells under the shade of the Almighty.
He will say to the Lord:
  “You are my shelter and my strength,
  my God, in whom I trust.”
For he will free you from the hunter’s snare,
  from the voice of the slanderer.
He will shade you with his wings,
  you will hide underneath his wings.
His faithfulness will be your armour and your shield.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
  nor the arrow that flies by day;
nor the plague that walks in the shadows,
  nor the death that lays waste at noon.
A thousand will fall at your side,
  at your right hand ten thousand will fall,
  but you it will never come near.
You will look with your eyes
  and see the reward of sinners.
For the Lord is your shelter and refuge;
  you have made the Most High your dwelling-place.
Evil will not reach you,
  harm cannot approach your tent;
for he has set his angels to guard you
  and keep you safe in all your ways.
They will carry you in their arms
  in case you hurt your foot on a stone.
You walk on the viper and cobra,
  you will tread on the lion and the serpent.
Because he clung to me, I shall free him:
  I shall lift him up because he knows my name.
He will call upon me and for my part, I will hear him:
  I am with him in his time of trouble.
I shall rescue him and lead him to glory.
I shall fill him with length of days
  and show him my salvation.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
He will shade you with his wings; you will not fear the terror of the night.

Reading Apocalypse 22:4-5
They will see the face of the Lord, and his name will be marked on their foreheads. There will be no more night: they will not need sunlight or lamp-light, because the Lord God himself will shine upon them. And they will reign for ever and ever.

For our sake Christ was made obedient, even to death.

Canticle Nunc Dimittis
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
  You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
  which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;
  the glory of your people Israel.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
  world without end.
Amen.
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

Prayer
Let us pray.
  Today we have celebrated the mystery of the Christ’s resurrection, and so now we humbly ask you, Lord, that we may rest in your peace, far from all harm, and rise rejoicing and giving praise to you.
  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
A M E N
An anthem to Our Lady should be recited here.

36 posted on 04/09/2009 3:05:24 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Catholic Doors

My brothers and sisters in Christ, in order to prepare ourselves to commemorate the glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Day, today, we are celebrating Holy Thursday. This Feast solemnly commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist. During the history of the Holy Catholic Church, this special Feast has been associated with the baptism of new converts, the reconciliation of penitents, the consecration of the holy oils, the washing of the feet and the commemoration of the Blessed Eucharist. As such, this Feast has received many different names that all represent Holy Thursday.

Holy Thursday is the night on which our Lord Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples. What went through the mind of the disciples on that night, we will never know. We can only imagine. What we do know is that Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from the world and to go to the Father. While Jesus had been preparing His disciples for some time, hinting to them that He was about to be betrayed and crucified, the disciples did not appear to perceive what Jesus was telling them.

After all, the disciples were human beings just like all of us. Most likely, they were more impressed with the miracles of Jesus, His infinite wisdom as a Teacher and Rabbi, and His endless knowledge of the mysteries of God. While some of the disciples affirmed that Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah, their actions at the time of the arrest of Jesus clearly tell us that they were very weak in human nature.

During today's First Reading from the Book of Exodus, [Exo. 12:1-8, 11-14] God the Father alluded to Moses and His people that the day of the New Covenant of grace was coming.

In that reading, God the Father gave at least eight different pictures of things to come. In the institution of the Passover to commemorate the day when His people were freed from slavery, God indicated that that month would mark for the people the beginning of months. For new converts to the Catholic Church who are receiving the Sacrament of Baptism during the Easter season, this month marks for them the beginning of the liturgical year that is to follow.

God the Father spoke of taking a lamb without blemish. As we know, Jesus was the Lamb of God without defect or blemish. [Jn. 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:19] "For our sake God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." [2 Cor. 5:21]

God the Father commanded Moses and His people to eat the lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God and the Bread of Life. [Jn. 6:35, 48-50] By eating the Bread of Life, the Holy Eucharist, we freely receive the life of Christ that leads to our salvation.

To clarify this, it is necessary to understand the progressive order of the Church Sacraments. Through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, we receive gifts from God. We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And we receive our new creation of the godly seed, the promised new heart and new spirit. And finally, through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are made righteous in the eyes of God, receiving forgiveness for the original sin that stained our souls and the "sins that we previously committed." [Rom. 3:25]

When we sin after having received the Sacrament of Baptism, we need the Sacrament of Reconciliation to once more reinstate the righteousness of the Lord God that we previously enjoyed through Christ.

Now being in a state of grace through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to receive our salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God, we need the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the Bread of Life.

During the First Reading, God the Father also spoke of the firstborn. Again, this is a picture of Jesus. Jesus is "the firstborn within a large family." [Rom. 8:29] He is the first fruits of those who have died. [1 Cor 15:20] He is the firstfruit of all creation. [Col. 1:15] As the King of kings, He was the first to resurrect and to enter the Kingdom of God.

The blood of the lamb is a picture of the Blood of Christ. Through the Blood of Christ, we are justified. [Rom. 5:9] To pass over those where the blood of the lamb is seen means that there will be no judgment against those who are made righteous before the eyes of God by the Lamb of God. Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life." [Jn. 5:24]

When God the Father said that He would pass over Egypt, He was giving us a picture of passing over the darkness of the world. In those days, the Egyptians, as gentiles, worshipped different idols. They were not part of God's people and promises. So when God shall pass His judgment over the world, He shall pass over those who have received their righteousness through the Blood of Christ.

Finally, in the days of Moses, God commanded that the Feast of the Passover be remembered. It should be celebrated as a festival to the Lord, throughout every generations as a perpetual ordinance. This command is a picture of the feast of Holy Thursday that is being celebrated today. It is a picture of the Last Supper that is celebrated daily throughout the world in remembrance of the words of Jesus and the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the Bread of Life.

During today's Second Reading, [1 Cor. 11:23-26] St. Paul affirmed to us what he personally received from the Lord Jesus. Jesus commanded us to celebrate the Holy Mass and the Holy Eucharist in remembrance of Him. St. Paul tells us that this is the New Covenant of grace through the Blood of Jesus. Through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, we are to proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

So sacred is the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist that in the next three verses that followed during today's Second Reading, St. Paul gave us a guideline as to how we should receive this Sacrament. "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves." [1 Cor. 11:27- 6]

To avoid the judgment of the Lord, we should receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace, after having received the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

What does it mean to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace? It means that those who are living in a common- law relationships or same sex relationships do not qualify to receive Holy Communion. It means that without the Sacrament of Confession, those who commit adultery disqualify themselves from the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It means that those who have been involved in abortions in any way, until such time as their excommunication has been lifted by the proper ecclesiastical authority, they cannot receive Holy Communion. It means that those who are in a state of mortal sin, until such time as they have sincerely repented and confessed their sins, they cannot approach the Sacred Table to receive the Bread of Life.

Today's Reading from the Gospel of John told us that during the Last Supper, Jesus did something very unusual. He got on His knees and washed the feet of His disciples. What tremendous humility we see in this act of Divine love. The greatest Teacher of all times, our Lord God Himself, humbled Himself as a servant of His children. Loving His children of the world until the end, He wanted to do something special by which He would be remembered. He wanted to leave them an example to live by.

When Peter protested against Jesus washing his feet, Jesus told him, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." And when Jesus had finished washing the feet of the disciples, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and lord - and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.'"

My brothers and sisters in Christ, today's readings have two spiritual messages for us that cannot be separated. First of all, the Feast of Holy Thursday is in remembrance of the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. From this Sacrament, the Bread of Life, comes the inheritance of salvation and eternal life in the beatific vision of God in His Kingdom.

The second message is that we are to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in a worthy manner. To be pleasing to the eyes of God as shining spirits in Christ, we must humble ourselves as Jesus humbled Himself. In our living faith in Christ, we must be prepared to serve others. Through such actions, by our shining in the light and love of Christ, we are granted a worthy state of grace through which we can partake in the Holy Mass in order to receive the Lord Jesus in our hearts through the Holy Eucharist.

Through such actions, we shall gloriously enter the eternal Kingdom of God.

37 posted on 04/09/2009 3:10:44 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation
Jn 13:1-15
# Douay-Rheims Vulgate
1 Before the festival day of the pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end. ante diem autem festum paschae sciens Iesus quia venit eius hora ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad Patrem cum dilexisset suos qui erant in mundo in finem dilexit eos
2 And when supper was done (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him), et cena facta cum diabolus iam misisset in corde ut traderet eum Iudas Simonis Scariotis
3 Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands and that he came from God and goeth to God, sciens quia omnia dedit ei Pater in manus et quia a Deo exivit et ad Deum vadit
4 He riseth from supper and layeth aside his garments and, having taken a towel, girded himself. surgit a cena et ponit vestimenta sua et cum accepisset linteum praecinxit se
5 After that, he putteth water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. deinde mittit aquam in pelvem et coepit lavare pedes discipulorum et extergere linteo quo erat praecinctus
6 He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him: Lord, dost thou wash my feet? venit ergo ad Simonem Petrum et dicit ei Petrus Domine tu mihi lavas pedes
7 Jesus answered and said to him: What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. respondit Iesus et dicit ei quod ego facio tu nescis modo scies autem postea
8 Peter saith to him: Thou shalt never wash my feet, Jesus answered him: If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me. dicit ei Petrus non lavabis mihi pedes in aeternum respondit Iesus ei si non lavero te non habes partem mecum
9 Simon Peter saith to him: Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head. dicit ei Simon Petrus Domine non tantum pedes meos sed et manus et caput
10 Jesus saith to him: He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all. dicit ei Iesus qui lotus est non indiget ut lavet sed est mundus totus et vos mundi estis sed non omnes
11 For he knew who he was that would betray him; therefore he said: You are not all clean. sciebat enim quisnam esset qui traderet eum propterea dixit non estis mundi omnes
12 Then after he had washed their feet and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: Know you what I have done to you? postquam ergo lavit pedes eorum et accepit vestimenta sua cum recubuisset iterum dixit eis scitis quid fecerim vobis
13 You call me Master and Lord. And you say well: for so I am. vos vocatis me magister et Domine et bene dicitis sum etenim
14 If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. si ergo ego lavi vestros pedes Dominus et magister et vos debetis alter alterius lavare pedes
15 For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. exemplum enim dedi vobis ut quemadmodum ego feci vobis ita et vos faciatis

38 posted on 04/09/2009 3:56:24 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: annalex
1. Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
3. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4. He rises from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5. After that he pours water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

THEOPHYL. Our Lord being about to depart out of this life, shows His great care for His disciples: Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them to the end.

BEDE. The Jews had many feasts, but the principal one was the passover; and therefore it is particularly said, Before the feast of the passover.

AUG. Pascha is not a Greek word, as some think, but Hebrew: though there is remarkable agreement of the two languages in it. The Greek word to suffer being pascha has been thought to mean passion, as being derived from the above word. But in Hebrew, pascha is a passing over; the feast deriving its name from the passing, of the people of God over the Red Sea into Egypt. All was now to take place in reality, of which that passover was the type.

Christ was led as a lamb to the slaughter; whose blood sprinkled upon our doorposts, i.e. whose sign of the cross marked on our foreheads, delivers us from the dominion of this world, as from Egyptian bondage. And we perform a most wholesome journey or passover, when we pass over from the devil to Christ, from this unstable world to His sure kingdom. In this way the Evangelist seems to interpret the word: When Jesus knew that His hour was come when He should pass over out of this world to the Father. This is the pascha, this the passing over.

CHRYS. He did not know then for the first time: He had known long before. By His departure He means His death, Being so near leaving His disciples, He shows the more love for them: Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them to the end; i.e. He left nothing undone which one who greatly loved should do. He reserved this for the last, that their love might be increased by it, and to prepare them by such consolation for the trials that were coming.

His own He calls them, in the sense of intimacy. The word was used in another sense in the beginning of the Gospel: His own received Him not. It follows, which were in the world: for those were dead who were His own, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were not in the world. These then, His own which were in the world, He loved all along, and at the last manifested His love in completeness: He loved them to the end.

AUG. He loved them to the end, i.e. that they themselves too might pass out of this world, by love, to Him their head. For what is to the end, but to Christ? For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes (Rom 10:4). But these words may be understood after a human sort, to mean that Christ loved His own up to His death.

But God forbid that He should end His love by death, who is not ended by death: except indeed we understand it thus: He loved His own to death: i.e. His love for them led Him to death. And supper having been made, i.e. having been got ready, and laid on the table before them; not having been consumed and finished: for it was during supper that He rose, and washed His disciples' feet; as after this He sat at table again, and gave the sop to the traitor.

What follows: The devil having now put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, refers to a secret suggestion, not made to the ear, but to the mind; the suggestions of the devil being part of our own thoughts. Judas then had already conceived, through diabolical instigation, the intention of betraying his Master.

CHRYS. The Evangelist inserts this as if in astonishment: our Lord being about to wash the feet of the very person who had resolved to betray Him. It shows the great wickedness too of the traitor, that even the partaking of the same table, which is a check to the worst of men, did not stop him.

AUG. The Evangelist being about to relate so great an instance of our Lord's humility, reminds us first of His lofty nature: knowing that the Father had given all things into His hand, not excepting the traitor.

GREG. He knew that He had even His persecutors in His hand that He might convert them from malice to love of Him.

ORIGEN The Father has given all things into His hands; i.e. into His power; for His hands hold all things; or to Him, for His work; My Father works hitherto, and I work (John 5:17).

CHRYS. Had given all things into His hand. What is given Him is the salvation of the believers. Think not of this giving up in a human way. It signifies His honor for, and agreement with, the Father. For as the Father has given up all things to Him, so has He given up all things to the Father. When He shall hare delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father (1 Cor 15:24).

AUG. Knowing too, that He was come from God, and went to God; not that He left God when He came, or will leave us when He returns.

THEOPHYL. The Father having given up all things into His hands, i.e. having given up to Him the salvation of the faithful, He deemed it right to show them all things that pertained to their salvation; and gave them a lesson of humility, by washing His disciples' feet. Though knowing that He was from God, and went to God, He thought it in no way took from His glory, to wash His disciples' feet; thus proving that He did not usurp His greatness. For usurpers do not condescend, for fear of losing what they have irregularly got.

AUG. Since the Father had given all things into His hands, He washed not His disciples' hands indeed, but their feet; and since He knew that He came from God, and went to God, He performed the work not of God and Lord, but of a man and servant.

CHRYS. It was a thing worthy of Him, Who came from God, and went to God, to trample upon all pride; He rises from supper, and laid aside His garment, and took a towel, and, girded Himself.; After that He pours water into a basin, and began to wash His disciples' feet, anal to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. See what humility He shows, not only in washing their feet, but in other things. For it was not before, but after they had sat down, that He rose; and He not only washed them, but laid aside His garments, and girded Himself with a towel, and filled a basin; He did not order others to do all this, but did it Himself, teaching us that we should be willing and ready to do such things.

ORIGEN. Mystically, dinner is the first meal, taken early in the spiritual day, and adapted to those who have just entered upon this day. Supper is the last meal, and is set before those who are farther advanced. According to another sense, dinner is the understanding of the Old Testament, the supper the understanding the mysteries hid in the New.

Yet even they who sup with Jesus, who partake of the final meal, need a certain washing, not indeed of the top parts of their body, i.e. the soul, but its lower parts and extremities, which cleave necessarily to earth. It is, And began to wash; for He did not finish His washing till afterwards. The feet of the Apostles were defiled now: All of you shall be offended because of Me this night (Matt 26:31). But afterwards He cleansed them, so that they needed no more cleansing.

AUG. He laid aside His garments, when, being in the form of God, He emptied Himself; He girded Himself with a towel, took upon Him the form of a servant;

He poured water into a basin, out of which He washed His disciples' feet. He shed His blood on the earth, with which He washed away the filth of their Sins; He wiped them with the towel wherewith He was girded; with the flesh wherewith He was clothed, He established the steps of the Evangelists; He laid aside His garments, to gird Himself with the towel; that He might take upon Him the form of a servant, He emptied Himself, not laying aside indeed what He had, but assuming what He had not. Before He was crucified, He was stripped of His garments, and when dead was wound up in linen clothes: the whole bole of His passion is our cleansing.

6. Then comes he to Simon Peter: and Peter said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet?
7. Jesus answered and said to him, What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter.
8. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash you not, you have no part with me.
9. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10. Jesus said to him, He that is washed needs not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and you are clean, but not all.
11. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, you are not all clean.

ORIGEN. As a physician, who has many sick under his care, begins with those who want his attention most, so Christ, in washing His disciples' feet, begins with the most unclean, and so comes at last to Peter, who needed the washing less than any: Then comes He to Simon Peter. Peter resisted being washed, perhaps because his feet were nearly clean: and Peter said to Him, Lord, do you wash my feet?

AUG. What is the meaning of you and my feet? It is better to think than speak of this; lest one should fail in explaining adequately what might have been rightly conceived.

CHRYS. Though Peter was the first of the Apostles, yet it is possible that the traitor petulantly placed himself above him; and that this may be the reason why our Lord first began to wash, and then comes to Peter.

THEOPHYL. It is plain that our Lord did not wash Peter first, but none other of the disciples would have attempted to be washed before him.

CHRYS Some one will ask why none of them prevented Him, except Peter, this being a sign not of want of love, but of reverence. The reason seems to be, that He washed the traitor first, and came next to Peter, and that the other disciples were checked by the reply to Peter. Any of the rest would have said what Peter did, had his turn come first.

ORIGEN. Or thus: All the rest put out their feet, certain that so great a one would not want to wash them without reason: but Peter, looking only to the thing itself, and seeing nothing beyond it, refused out of reverence to let his feet be washed. He often appears in Scripture as hasty in putting forth his own ideas of what is right and expedient.

AUG. Or thus: We must not suppose that Peter was afraid and refused, when the others had willingly and gladly submitted to the washing. Our Lord did not go through the others first, and to the first of the Apostles afterwards; (for who is ignorant that the most blessed Peter was the first of all the Apostles?) but began with him: and Peter being the first to whom He came, was afraid; as indeed any of the others would have been.

Jesus answered and said to him, What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter.

CHRYS. i.e. How useful a lesson of humility it teaches you, and how, directly this virtue leads to God.

ORIGEN. Or our Lord insinuates that this is a mystery. By washing and wiping, He made beautiful the feet of those who were to preach glad tidings (Isaiah 52:7), and to walk on that way of which He tells them, I am the way. Jesus laid aside His garments that He might make their clean feet still cleaner, or that He might receive the uncleanness of their feet to His own body, by the towel with which alone He was girded: for He has borne our griefs. Observe too, He chose for washing His disciples' feet the very time that the devil had put it into the heart of Judas to betray Him, and the dispensation for mankind was about to take place. Before this the time was not come for washing their feet. And who would have washed their feet in the interval between this and the Passion? During the Passion, there was no other Jesus to do it. And after it the Holy Ghost came upon them, by which time they should already have had their feet washed. This mystery, our Lord says to Peter, is too great for you to understand now, but you shall know it hereafter when you are enlightened.

AUG. He did not refuse, because our Lord's act was above his understanding, but he could not bear to see Him bending at his feet: Peter says to Him, you shall not wash my feet; i.e. I will never suffer it: not for ever is the same as never.

ORIGEN. This is an instance, that a man may say a thing with a good intention, and yet ignorantly to His hurt. Peter, ignorant of our Lord's deep meaning, at first, as if in doubt, says mildly, Lord, do you wash my feet? and then, you shall never wash my feet; which was in reality to cut himself off from having a part with Jesus. Whence he not only blames our Lord for washing the disciples' feet, but also his fellow-disciples for giving their feet to be washed. As Peter then did not see his own good our Lord did not allow His wish to be fulfilled: Jesus answered and said to him, If I wash you not, you have no part with Me.

AUG. If I wash you not, He says, though it was only his feet that He was going to wash, just as we say, you tread on me; though it is only our foot that is trodden on.

ORIGEN. Let those who refuse to allegorize these and like passages, say how it is probable that he who out of reverence for Jesus said, you shall never wash my feet, would have had no part with the Son of God; as if not having his feet washed was a deadly wickedness. Wherefore it is our feet, i.e. the affections of our mind, that are to be given up to Jesus to be washed, that our feet may be beautiful; especially if we emulate higher gifts, and wish to be numbered with those w ho preach glad tidings.

CHRYS. He does not say on what account He performs this act of washing, but only threatens him. For Peter was not persuaded by the first answer: you shall know hereafter he did not say, Teach me then that I may submit. But when he was threatened with separation from Christ, then he submitted.

ORIGEN. This saying we may use against those who make hasty and indiscreet resolutions. By strewing them, that if they adhere to these, they will have no part with Jesus, we disengage them from such resolves; even though they may have bound themselves by oath.

AUG. But he, agitated by fear and love, dreaded more the being denied Christ, than the seeing Him at His feet: Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

ORIGEN. Jesus was unwilling to wash hands, and despised what was said of Him in this respect: Your disciples wash not their hands when they eat bread (Matt 15:2). And He did not wish the head to be submerged, in which was apparent the image and glory of the Father; it was enough for Him that the feet were given Him to wash: Jesus answered and said, He that is washed needs not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and you are clean, but not all.

AUG. Clean all except the feet. The whole of a man is washed in baptism, not excepting his feet; but living in the world afterwards, we tread upon the earth. Those human affections then, without which we cannot live in this world, are, as it were, our feet, which connect us with human things, so that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 Jn 1:8). But if we confess our sins, He who washed the disciples' feet, forgives us our sins even down to our feet, wherewith we hold our converse with earth.

ORIGEN. It was impossible that the lowest parts and extremities of a soul should escape defilement, even in one perfect as far as man can be; and many, even after baptism, are covered up to their head with the dust of wickedness; but the real disciples of Christ only need washing for their feet.

AUG. From what is here said, we understand that Peter was already baptized, indeed that He baptized by His disciples, shows that His disciples must have been baptized, either with John's baptism, or, which is more probable, Christ's. He baptized by means of baptized servants; for He did not refuse the ministry of baptizing, Who had the humility to wash feet.

AUG. And you are clean, but not all: what this means the Evangelist immediately! explains: For He knew who should betray Him; therefore said He, you are not all clean.

ORIGEN. you are clean, refers to the eleven; but not all, to Judas. He was unclean, first, because he cared not for the poor, but was a thief; secondly, because the devil had put it into his heart to betray Christ washes their feet after they are clean, strewing that grace goes beyond necessity, according to the text, He that is holy, let him be holy still.

AUG. Or, the disciples when washed had only to have their feet washed; because while man lives in this world, he contracts himself with earth, by means of his human affections, which are as it were his feet.

CHRYS. Or thus: When He calls them clean, you must not suppose that they were delivered from sin before the victim was offered. He means cleanness in respect of knowledge; for they were now delivered from Jewish error.

12. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said to them, Know you what I have done to you?
13. You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am.
14. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet.
15. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

AUG. Our Lord, mindful of His promise to Peter that he should know the meaning of His act, you shall know here after, now begins to teach him: So after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and was sat down again, He said to them, Know you what I have done to you?

ORIGEN. Know you, is either interrogative, to show the greatness of the act, or imperative, to rouse their minds.

ALCUIN. Mystically, when at our redemption we were changed by the shedding of His blood, He took again His garments, rising from the grave the third day, and clothed in the same body now immortal, ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father, from whence He shall come to judge the world.

CHRYS. He speaks now not to Peter alone, but to all: you call Me Master and Lord. He accepts their judgment; and to prevent the words being set down merely to favor on their parts, adds, And you say well, for so I am.

AUG. It is enjoined in the Proverbs, Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth. For it is dangerous for one to praise himself, who has to beware of pride. But He who is above all things, howsoever He praise Himself, extols not Himself too highly. Nor can God be called arrogant: for that we should know Him is no gain to Him, but to us. Nor can anyone know Him, unless He who knows, show Himself. So that if to avoid arrogance He did not praise Himself, He would be denying us wisdom. But why should the Truth fear arrogance? To His calling Himself Master, no one could object, even were He man only, since professors in different arts call themselves so without presumption. But what free man can bear the title of lord in a man? Yet when God speaks, height cannot exalt itself; truth cannot lie; it is for us to submit to that height, to obey that truth. Wherefore you say well in that you call Me Master and Lord, for so I am; but if I were not what you say, you would say ill.

ORIGEN. They do not say well, Lord, to whom it shall be said, Depart from Me, you that work iniquity. But; the Apostles say well, Master and Lord, for wickedness had not dominion over them, but the Word of God.

If then I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

CHRYS. He shows us the greater, that we may do the less. For He was the Lord, but we, if we do it, do it to our fellow-servants:

For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

BEDE. Our Lord first did a thing, then taught it: as it is said, Jesus began both to do and to teach (Acts 1:1).

AUG. This is, blessed Peter, what you were ignorant of; this you were told that you should know afterwards.

ORIGEN. But it is not necessary for one who wishes to do all the commandments of Jesus, literally to perform the act of washing feet. This is merely a matter of custom; and the custom is now generally dropped.

AUG. This act is done literally by many, when they receive one another in hospitality. For it is unquestionably better that it should be done with the hands, and that the Christian disdain not to do what Christ did. For when the body is bent at the feet of a brother, the feeling of humility is made to rise in the heart, or, if it be there already, is confirmed. But besides this moral meaning, is not a brother able to change a brother from the pollution of sin? Let us confess our faults one to another, forgive one another's faults, pray for one another's faults. In this way we shall wash one another's feet.

ORIGEN. Or thus: This spiritual washing of the feet is done primarily by Jesus Himself, secondarily by His disciples, in that He said to them, you ought to wash one another's feet. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples as their Master, of His servants as their Lord. But the object of the master is to make His disciples as Himself; and our Savior beyond all other masters and lords, wished His disciples to be as their Master and Lord, not having the spirit of bondage, but the spirit of adoption, whereby they, cry, Abba, Father (Rom 8:19). So then before they become masters and lords, they need the washing of the feet, being as vet insufficient disciples, and savoring of the spirit of bondage. But when they have attained to the state of master and lord, they then are able to imitate their Master, and to wash the disciples' feet by their doctrine.

Catena Aurea John 13
39 posted on 04/09/2009 3:57:02 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: annalex


Christ Washing the Feet of His Disciples

c. 1210
Mosaic
Basilica di San Marco, Venice

40 posted on 04/09/2009 3:57:35 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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